Shoe tree



e 19 L. w. REINHARDT 2,341,506

SHOE TREE Filed Oct. 24, 1942 v INVENTOR. Lau/5 PM RE/NHHRDT' ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 8, 1 944 7 ICE SHOE TREE Louis W. Reinhardt, Brockton, Mass., assignor to George E. Bclcher Company, Stoughton, Mass.,

a corporation of Massachusetts Application October .24, 1942, Serial No. 463,226

Claims. (o1. 12-12s.1)

This'invention relates to display forms for shoes whereby salesmens samples or retailers stocks may be presented in most attractive manner.,

"In my previous Patent No. 2,087,195, I disclosed ahollow shoe form of laminated buckram which has provenvery popular on account of its strength and neatness, its broad bottom flanges making it possible for the form to draw and hold the toe portions of shoes into which they are inserted to a, smooth unwrinkled condition even where handled under extremes of temperatures and atmospheric conditions. The smooth closed edge at the rear end of these forms in addition to its attractive appearance gives added strength ina vertical zone where thebottom flanges fall awayin their stifiening and supporting relation. This has led me to the concept of a lastlike heel portion which can be turned like any last but'with the toe portion omitted or removed beyond the critical waist line or zone'of the shoe, foot or last.

While these hollow forms are very light and very satisfactory for the sample case of the travelling salesman, they do not, of course, dress up the shoe as does a nicely made wooden display form which is usually made more or less like a hinged last and stained or finished in natural grain or in color contrasts in trim.

These are rather heavy and expensive to produce as they have to be practically last models fitting only one or a few variations in style or size. Stretching lasts or fillers have been combined with hollow forms, but added too much weight or required the use of springs or like exposed parts liable to damage the interior of the shoe.

According to my present invention, I provide a rear part tree including a heel portion and an instep portion. The tree is shaped to fit the shoe upp r adjacent its opening and to provide a space between the instep portion and the insole when the tree is positioned in a shoe. In order to ensure the proper positioning of the trees in shoes, I form the instep portion of each with an upwardly and rearwardly disposed bore in which I position a spring and a support having limited sliding movement in the bore but of sufficient length to yieldably maintain the tree in contact with the shoe upper.

As illustrative of present invention, I show in the accompanying drawing a rear part tree and also its combinative use with a hollow form for the support of the fore part affording a complete treeing'of a shoe for display in a most at tractive yet relatively inexpensive manner.

In the drawing: V

Fig. 1 shows in partial longitudinal section a combined solid heel part in supporting relation to a hollow shoe form acting as a shoe tree fore part in an indicated shoe, and

Fig. 2 is a view of my new heel part removed and partly sectioned to exposethe internal protectively housed spring member of the elevator plug.

A rear part shoe tree, in accordance with my invention, is generally indicated at It! and includes a heel portion H having a knob l2 and an instep portion l3. The rear part tree is shaped to give the desired fit to the portions of the upper adjacent the opening of the shoe S and to provide a space between the instep portion l3 and the insole when the tree is in shoe supporting position. The instep portion I3 is of suflicient length to extend well within the instep zone of the shoe 5 and has a downwardly and rearwardly inclined front face l4.

To yieldably position the tree correctly in a shoe in which it is inserted, I employ a support I5 slidable in an upwardly and rearwardly disposed bore 16 extending from the bottom surface of the instep portion l3 to a point adjacent its top. The support [5 is urged from the bore l6 by the spring I! but is formed with an elongated recess [8 to receive the pin l9 extending through the instep portion l3 to limit the movement of the support l5 into the bore against the influence of the spring I! or out of the bore under its influence.

It will be noted that the support l5 contacts the insole rearwardly of the plane defined by the face l4 and to avoid marring the insole, the exposed end of the support I5 is rounded as at 20. The support l5 may conveniently be made from a wooden dowel, fibre, or any other available stock.

While the wooden rear member [0 is capable of holding the upper of a shoe at its foot receiving opening, an inexpensive hollow form 2| for the toe part of the shoe may be used with it. As such forms, especially when made of buckram or like sized fabric are very light and inexpensive, the salesman may fit toe forms in all of his samples and only use the heavier more expensive rear forms [0 when handling a shoe in displaying it to a prospective customer to illustrate the attractiveness of its appearance when dressed for window or shoe case display. In spite of its appearance of being solidly treed, the rear members are readily removable for inspection of the shoe interior with full assurance that the insole will not be found in scratched or gouged condition.

Preferably, the hollow forms 2| include sole contacting flanges 22 and in accordance with my invention the instep portion l3 extends under the cone or instep part 23 of the form 2| so that when a form 2| and a rear part tree ID are inserted in a shoe and the lacings drawn, the rear part In is also effective to engage with the part 23 of the form 2|.

In accordance with my invention rear part shoe trees may be inexpensively made since they may be conveniently turned, and the springs are the only metal required so that they are well adapted for manufacture under present conditions. Because of the size of the instep portion, the rear part trees are easily inserted into shoes and the yieldable supports are always in position to engage with the insole to ensure that the shoes are properly and attractively treed when the lacings are tied to adjust the rear part trees into their correct position.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for use in displaying a shoe, comprising a heel portion and an instep portion the upper part of said device being contoured to fit the portions of the shoe upper adjacent its opening and the lower part of said instep portion being shaped to be spaced from the insole when the upper part is in contact with the shoe upper, said instep portion having a bore extending from its bottom surface upwardly and rearwardly, a spring within said bore, and an insole engaging support in said .bore slidably connected to said instep portion to limit its movement under the influence of said spring and to maintain said spring under compression, said support being of sufficient length to protrude from said bore a distance sufiicient to engage the insole and to yieldingly maintain said upper part in engagement with the adjacent portions of the shoe upper.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the support has a rounded insole contacting end for frictionally engaging the upper surface insole without marring its finish.

3. The device of claim 1 in which the protruding end of the support is spaced rearwardly of the end of the instep portion.

4. The device of claim 1 in which the bore entering end of the support has an elongated recess and a pin extending through the instep part and through the recess to limit the movement of the support.

5. In combination, a hollow fore part form having its open rear end disposed in support of the instep portion of a shoe, and a rear part tree comprising a heel portion and an instep portion of sufficient length to extend into the instep area of a shoe, the upper part of said tree being contoured to fit the portions of the shoe upper adjacent its opening and the lower part of said instep portion being shaped to be spaced from the insole when the upper part is in contact with said shoe upper, said instep portion having a. bore extending from its bottom surface upwardly and rearwardly, a spring within said bore, and an insole engaging support in said bore slidably connected to said instep portion to limit its movement under the influence of said spring and to maintain said spring under compression, said support being of suflicient length to protrude from said bore sufiicient distance to engage the insole and to yieldably maintain said upper part in engagement with the adjacent portion of the shoe upper and the rear end of said form.

LOUIS W. REINHARDT. I 

